FITTING OF MASON ALARM

mikelamb · Post by **mikelamb** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:38 pm

Hi All,
I have just recieved my mason alarm and was wondering if you can point me in the direction of some detailed instructions on how to fit it. I am investing in the alarms (coolant alarm next) as we had a close call when the steel pipe running under the drivers side sprung a leak. I think we got away without serious problems but I am keeping a close eye on the coolant levels for any loss. We were recovered through Autoaid at a cost of£110.00 which was reimbursed within 2 days of us subbmitting the claim. The whole family love the bongo but she is starting to make me worry about future costs and also for using her on our long holiday journeys.
Thanks to you all for any help,
Mike.

BongoMTBer · Post by **BongoMTBer** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:52 pm

All the instruction you need comes with it.

Take the speedo pod out.

Connect the wires to the screws on the back of the PCB.

Blue; T-U
Red; Ign
Green; E

Put speedo pod back in.

Take it for a drive, let it warm up, turn the pot. until it just starts to beep, then add about 0.5.

It is that simple.

BongoMTBer · Post by **BongoMTBer** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:53 pm

This should help too.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... n&start=24

nfn · Post by **nfn** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:56 pm

First, tilt the steering wheel down as far as it will go, using the lever on the bottom of the steering column. To get the instrument cluster out, there are four screws -- two facing down at the top, and two at the bottom. Once you have these out you should be able to pull out the grey plastic to reveal the whole instrument cluster. Be careful when pulling -- you could have wires to unattach from the fog light. I don't remember whether there are more screws to remove the cluster, but you need to get it out to attach the Mason alarm wires as per instructions. It's best to unattach the cluster from its wires for easy access. When connecting the Mason alarm wires, don't overtighten the three screws -- the circuit board is pretty flimsy. I stuck the unit to some switch blanks to the left of the steering wheel. Put it all back together, and off you go. You will need to set the alarm between 3 and 5.

mikelamb · Post by **mikelamb** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:34 pm

Thanks for your help, it looks fairly straight forward so hopefully I can find time this week to get the job done,
Mike.

vanvliet · Post by **vanvliet** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:09 pm

- - - and once you see how easy it is you can then fit a 626 speedo at some time in the in future - -

coco bongo · Post by **coco bongo** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:57 am

I heard from Simon Heaton that these alarms always go off going up hills.

Sounds feasible, but is it just a case of making sure that they are set properly? Im thinking of getting one soon, along with Haydns alarm.

missfixit70 · Post by **missfixit70** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:50 am

You choose at what temp they go off, a bit of trial & error, but set them around 4.5 seems to be about right.
Mine went off after accelerating up a steep hill, towing a large folding caravan, then stopping at a layby, turning the engine off almost instantly. When I got back in a few minutes later, the mason alarm went off when I turned on the ignition, showing 108 degrees on the digital temp guage I fitted.
I turned the mason up slightly from where it was at about 4.3 to just above 4.5 & the alarm stopped, as soon as the engine was running, temp dropped right back to 100 ish, couldn't get it much above that again, but then I wasn't pushing it as I wasn't sure of the caravan's brakes

Excellent bit of electrickery, great to actually see the temp gauge have a bit of movement as well as knowing it'll shout at you if there's a problem

Along with the other essential (IMO) Coolant Alarm, I worry much less about overheating issues

MountainGoat · Post by **MountainGoat** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:56 am

Kirsty were you taking the hill in D, S or L gears. It would be intresting to know if locking the Bongo into either S or L gears has any effect on the Mason Alarm when taking hills.

BongoMTBer · Post by **BongoMTBer** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:18 am

missfixit70 wrote: Mine went off after accelerating up a steep hill, towing a large folding caravan, then stopping at a layby, turning the engine off almost instantly.

Tut tut Kirsty. Do you know that kind of treatment can kill a turbo? You should let it idle for a few minutes after a big push like that before shutting down.